Poster-display device



Jan. 22, 1929. 1,699,735

c. M. DABROHUA ET AL POSTER DISPLAY-DEVICE Filed April '7, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l a) 2956: I7ZU67Z45 3? a Z? .2 1 ,4 Z 2355 Egg Jan.22, 1929. 1,699,735 I C. M. DABROHUA ET roman DISPLAY DEVICE Filed April '7, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 22, 1929.

GASTRO M. DABBOHUA AND WILLIAM E. ROBERTS, .OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

POSTER-DISPLAY DEVICE.

Application filed. April 7,

Our invention relates to improvements in display devices and has special reference to a device for holding a poster in flat extended upright condition for display.

The object of our invention is to provide a very simple'inexpensive device for holding posters in extended condition; which can be packed with the poster for shipping through the mail; which, when packed with a poster for shipment, will help to protect the poster; which can be readily arranged and applied to the poster; and which will serve in the manner of an easel to support the poster in fiat extended condition and in substantially vertical position for display.

Our device is particularly adapted for use with a printed poster having strips at its upper and lower ends and which can be rolled. up longitudinally for packing. Usually the poster is higher than it is wide and the device is adapted to be arranged of a length slightly longer than thewidth of the poster, so that when packed with same the device will assist in protecting the poster. The device is also arranged to be readily extended to a suitable length to engage the strips at the ends of the poster and to exert a sufficient tension on the poster to hold it flat. Means are provided for automatically throwing out a part of the device to serve as a brace tomaintain the device and poster in substantially upright 01' vertical position.

Many other advantageous features of construction and operation will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification and in which Fig. 1, is a rear perspective view shmving a poster supported by the device;

Fig. 2, is a fragmentary, rear, plan view of the device in folded condition, with the poster indicated in dotted lines as wound around the device preparatory to packing for shipping;

Fig. 3, is a fragmentary, plan view as seen from the opposite side to that shown in Fig. 2; i

Fig. it, is a fragmentary, rear, plan View,

Fig. 5;

1927. Serial No. 181,822.

similar to Fig. 3 with parts broken away to best illustrate the structure;

Fig. 5, is a vew similar to Fig. 3,,but showing the parts in extended relation;

Figs. 6 and 7, are longitudinal sections on the lines 6-6 and 77, respectively, of

. Figs. 8 and 9, are transverse sections on the lines 8-8 and 9-9, respectively, of Fig. 5; and i Fig. 10, is a fragmentary, perspective view, particularly showing the end strip for the poster. i

.In said drawings 1, represents a poster printed on a paper sheet, anddesigned to be exhibited in substantially vertical position, as shown in Fig. 1. For holding the poster in such exhibit position IPIOVIClGfi.

support 2, preferably made principally of wire and adapted to engage strips 3 secured to the top and bottom edges of the poster. These strips, as best shown in Fig. 10, are made of light sheet metal and are bent or formed to provide a part 4- which engages over and is clamped tightly upon the end of the poster. Preferably the end strip is formed up to provide a guard part 5 at the back of the poster and to form a somewhat V-shaped part 6. presenting a substantially horizontal wall 7 at the mouth of the V.

The horizontal part 7 isprovided with holes 8 for receiving the ends of the support 2.

The support 2 is so constructed that it is normally longer than the poster so that it has to be flexed or curved, as shownin Fig. 1, to place it in poster supportingposition and the resiliency of the support is such. that it tends to stretch or tension the poster, and consequently retains the poster in flat condition. The support 2 consists of three U-shape wire members 9, 10 and 11 joined together by a sheetmetal connecting member 12. p i The top or upper member 9 of the sup port is mounted at its closed end upon the connecting member 12 in such a manner that it can be withdrawn from its extended position to shorten the device for shipping purposes.- The side arms 13 of the member 9 are slidingly engaged by formed over edges shoulders secured to tie connecting member 14 of the member 12, as shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 8, and the member 9 can be moved back and forth longitudinally to shorten and lengthen the device.

As shown in Fig. 1, the poster is generally longer than it is wide, and as it has the ri id end strips 3, it is packed forshipmen-t by rolling it up on one of the end strips, The poster .as thus rolled u ready for shipping makes a package whic is shorter than the support 2 when extended andzin wordelfltow cause the support 2 to be slightly longer than the length of the package, or, in other words, than the width of the poster. The sides 13 of the part 9 are provided withstop 15 adapted to engage the end of the connecting member 12 to limit the withdrawal of the member 9 and cause the support when time shortened to be longer than the width of the poster, as shown inFig. The poster is, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, wrapped around the shortened support for shipment and as the support is relatively rigid its protects the paper poster against damage, especially whemas is usual, each poster a long envelop.

The lower U shaped member 10 of the support 2 is rigidly mounted at its closed end upon the connecting member or plate'12, the side leg parts 16 extending in the plane of theconnectina member. The member 108s -12 turned over side flanges 17 on the lower end portion of the connecting member 12. The

inner ends 138 of these flangesl'l, as best shown in Fig. 6, are bent down or inwardly toward the body of the connecting plate member 12 to hold the-member 10 against movement relatively to the member 12.

The brace member 11 is pivotally mounted atone end on the connecting member 12 so that it can swingout at an angle do the plane of theconnecting member, as shown in Figs]. and 7, for supporting the-poster, and back substantially intothe plane of the connecting member when the 'device is collapsed. For purposes of rigidity theclosed end 19 of the brace member 110 is preferably the free end and at dthe opposi te end the extremities 20 of theside leg parts 21 are bent in toward each other, as bestshown in Fig. 5. The member 11 is pivotal ly mounted at its inner end on the connecting member12 by means of a tubular like sheet metal link 22 which is formed to receive =:the inner cross bar end 24 of the upper U-shaiped member 9 and thetwo bent in ends ofithe member 11. 'Dheside legs 21 of the member 11 are bent .ofl? rearwardly at an angle :toithe plane :of the connectingnnember 12,:asbest shown zin Fig. 7, so that when the device is extended the member 11 will extend rear wnrdly to form a brace to 1h01d.:fihe poster with itssupport is shipped in from falling over backwards. From Fig. 7 it will be seen that the inner of the member 11 lies between the inner end of the upper member 9 and the connecting plate, and, furthermore, it will be seen from 3 that the member 11 is narrower than the members 9 and 10, and consequently when the member 9 is slid inwardly the member- 11 canswing forwardly between the legs 13 of the member 9 and the legs 16 of the EIHGDIIjlJEPlfQAtO bring the member 11 substantially into the plane of the connecting member 12 for shipping purposes.

The brace member 11 is forced to swing back to bracing position when the upper member 9 is drawn out by reason of the cross bar 24. of -tl1e-1nember 9 contacting with the legs 21 of the brace member and the brace locked in its supporting position by this cross bar which holds the upper ends of the legs 21 close against the body of the connecting member 212, :as *best shown in Fig; 7.

For the purpose of a locking the upper member 9 in extended position a hook123 is provided. This book is formed in connection with the tubular "connecting member 22, the plate of 'which the member '22 is formed is exteni'leddownwairdly and its free lower end is formedintothe hook 23.

The hook 23 is adapted to receive the cross bmr 24 at the lower end of the niemher 9. To enter the cross bar 21 in the book 23 the member 9 is pulled up 'tfar enough from its collapsed position to lltft the cross bar 24labove the book 23, the relative yielding of the parts allowing this movement, and then the member 9 is forced down to enter the bar 24 into the book. The book 23 thus holds the member 9 in its extended conditionwagainst the tension of the poster.

The length of the device as extended is more than the height of the poster by sufficient to make it necessary to how the device, as best shown in Fig. 1, when lit is engaged with :the poster. The resilience of the device holds the poster stretched under considerable tension. In mounting the poster upon the devicothe upper member 9 islirst pulled outand engaged at the inner end with the hook 23. Then the free ends of the legs -ofthe member 9 are entered into the openings 8 in the strip 3 on the upper end of the poster. Then the device is flexed or howedsulficient to allow the free ends of the legs of the lower member to be entered lnto the Eholes 8 in the striq') at the lower end of the poster.

The pulling up and fastening of the up- .per member 9 acts to swing the bracc menn her to its inclined operative position so that as soon as the tour ends oi the members and 10 are inserted through the several openings 3 the device is ready to be set up.

end portion The freeends of the legs of the members!) til) and l0 are bent at a slight angle to the legs,

as shown at 25, so that when entered through the holes 8 in the strips 3 they will not tend to deflect the ends of the poster,

this operation.

A valuable feature of our invention resides in the fact that the device 2 is separate from the poster that is not permanently attached thereto, and consequently the device can be used with different posters. T his of value for the reason that. a series of posters can be exhibited in succession and only one supporting device will be necessary for the several posters.

As many modifications of our invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, we do not limit or confine our invention to the specific details of construction herein shown and described.

We claim:

1. The improvements comprising a supportfor posters having edge strips attached at opposite ends thereof, and consisting of two thrust members slidablein relation to each other from a combined minimum length to a suitable maximum working length, stops for limiting the relative movement 1n each direction, the free ends of the two members adapted to be engaged with the strips of a poster and to tension the poster, a leg member mounted at one end upon one of said relatively movable members to swing out and in, and bent off at an angle near its pivoted end adapted to be engaged by the other of said relatively movable members to swing the pivoted end into the plane of the two sliding members and its free end outwardly.

2. The combination with a poster, having strips at its ends, of a poster support normally slightly longer than the poster is wide for protecting the poster during shipment, the support comprising two parts slidable upon each other from a normal minimum length to a maximum working length, the free ends of the two adapted to engage the strips and tension the poster, a leg member pivotally mounted on one of said slidable members to swing out and having its pivoted end bent oil at an angle adapted to be engaged by the other of said members to force the inner end of the leg member into the plane of the two support members and swing the free end of the leg member out to operative position as the members are extended and means for retaining the slidable members extended.

3. The combination with a poster of strips herein described,

poster and to be for the ends thereof, the strips formed of sheet metal and adapted to be clamped upon 'the ends of the poster, and having opposed walls provided with openings to receive the ends of a tensioning support, and stop walls beyond the opposed walls for engagement with the ends of the support. V i

i. The combination with a poster of strips for the ends thereof, the strips formed of sheet metal and adapted to be clamped upon the ends of the poster, and having opposed walls provided with openings to receive the ends of a tensioning support, and stop walls beyond the opposed walls for engagement with the ends of the support, and a support comprising two relatively slidable members,

and a leg member, the slidable members he- 1ng relatively movable from a mmnnum to a maximum length, and having ends adapted to enter said holes in the end strips and en gage said walls, means for retaining said slidable members at maximum length, the leg member mounted on one of the slidable members to swing out and in, and adapted to be engaged by the other of said slidable members as it reaches its operative position and to be held thereby in its swung out position. i

5. The combination with a support adapted to be engaged with strips at the ends of a poster, strips on the poster having opposed perforated walls for receiving the ends of the support, and said strip formed to provide inwardly extending walls to guard the poster against destruction as the ends of the support are entered into the perforations in said opposed walls.

6. A. poster support made principally of resilient wire formed into three U-shaped members, a sheet metal connecting member formed around the closed end of one of said U-shaped members and formed at its edges to surround the leg portions of another of said U-shaped members for slidmgly mounting one U-shaped member upon the other, the third U-shaped member pivotally mounted at its open end upon said sheet metal connecting member to serve as a brace member.

7. A sheet metal strip for the end of a poster, one longitudinal edge of the strip.

bent to form a slot to receive an end of a clamped upon same, the opposite edge folded. back upon itself to form a guard wall, then bent outwardly to form a wall extending out substantially at a right angle to the plane of the strip to form a shoulder, then bent inwardly again to engage the outer edge of the str1p to brace said projecting wall, the promoting wall perforated to receive a poster support, as and for the purpose describe 8. In a device of the kind described, a telescopically extensible tensioning member, a brace member pivotally mounted on the mma tensionimg member a ndwadarptad and -a;1'- ing the bmee member to swing put :to bracranged toswing in =mto, egmpact ,i'elation i ng relation as the tensioning member is with the-tensizoningmemh r -whenthelatter el g ext nded 10 is not extended an d to swsimg-iouttobmcidng In testimony whereof, we have hereunto 5 relation wheln zthe tensioning member is exset our hands this 2nd day of April, 1927. tended, and oopgra ng mean an @the CASTRO M. DABROHUA- sioning member and bran a-mamber 01. gqaus- WILLIAM E. ROBERTS. 

